Thief-proof lamp-holding device.



R. B. BENJAMIN.

THIEF PROOF LAMP HOLDING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED AUGIZZ, I912.

4 MW )1 3 n 6 w a. B. BENJAMIN THIEF PROOF LAMP HOLDING DEVICE.APPLICATION man AUG-22. m2. mgw m Patented Aug. 28, 19 17.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2- jZ/ ilyelm REUBEN B. BENJAMIN, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS,

COMPANY, or CHICAGO, ILLInoIs ASSIGNOR T0 BENJAMIN ELECTRIC ACORPORATION 015 ILLINOIS.

THIEF-PROOF LAMP-HOLDING DEVICE.

menace.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 28, 1917.

Application filed August 22, 1912. Serial No. 716,491.

To. all whom it may concern:

Be 1t known that I, REUBEN B. BENJAMIN,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago,-in the county ofCook and State of Illinois, have invented new and useful Improvements inThief-Proof Lamp-Hold ing Devices, of which the following is a full,clear, concise, and exact description, reference being had to theaccompanying drawing, forming a part of this specification.

My invention pertains to thiefproof lamp-holding devices, and especiallyrelates to thief-proof devices of the kind in which the lamp rotatesloosely when an attempt is made to remove li' fIOHl the lamp-holder,thereby preventing the threaded lamp contact from being screwed out ofthe corre sponding threaded contact of the holder. In devices of thischaracter, a special too]. must be employed before the lamp can beremoved. It is an important object of my invention to provide a deviceof the character stated above, in which a tool is employed of such akind that it would be exceedingly diiiicult for thief to produce amakeshift device for doing the work of the tool; that is tosay, in whichit would be exceedingly difficult for an unauthorized person to opcratethe, mechanism so to release the lamp. It is another object of myinvention to provide a thief-proof lamp-holding device which will beconvenient in use and which maybe manipulated with the greatest easepossible by an authorized person. It.

is still another object of my invention to provide a thief prooflamp-holding device which will be of a strong and durable construction,and which may be produced ata reasonable price. Audit is a still furtherobject of my invention generally to improve upon the construction ofthief-proof plug lamp sockets. V

For purposes of description, 1 have shown a thief-proof plug lamp socketin the accompanying drawings; but it will be understood that the deviceshown is only one of many constructions in which my invention may beembodied. My invention may take other form, and changes may bemade inthe embodiment which I have shown in the drawings, within the scope ofthe invention, as expressed in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of a plug lamp socket constructed inaccordance with my invention, the body being shown as locked in positionin the shell;

Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation of the shell with the locking members intheir released condition, the body being shown, in full, separated fromthe shell;

Fig. 3 is a sectional plan, the section be ing taken on the line 33 ofFig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. iis a sectional plan, the section being taken on the lineof Fig. 2,looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 5 is an inverted sectional plan, the section being taken on theline 5-5 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional view, the section being taken on theline 6 6 of Fig. 3, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figs. 7, 8 and 9 are detail perspective views of the armature-containingframe, the armature-actuating spring and the armature itself,respectively;

F ig. 10 is a perspective detail view of the contact plate which isengaged by the threaded plug contact;

Fig. 11 is a perspective view of the tool employed in connection withthe device shown in the other figures; and.

Figs. 12 and 13 are views showing the means employed for holding thethreaded plug contact normally against withdrawal from the socket inconnection with which it is used, Fig. 13 being a fragmentary section onthe line 13-13 of Fig. 12.

Like reference characters indicate like parts throughout thefollowingdescription and the several figures of the drawings.

The plug lamp socketshown in the drawings consists of two members whichI shall hereinafter term the shell and the body. The shell comprises acasing, having at its rear end a hollow threaded plug contact adapted toengage the threaded contact of the socket or the like in connection withwhich the device is to be employed; and it carries a releasable lockingmechanism, adapted to be operated by a special tool, for retaining thebody in position in such a manner that the body may be freely rotatedrelatively to the shell. The body is capable of being inserted into theshell so as to be inclosed and. protected thereby; and it comprises athreaded lamp receiving shell, a base for supporting the same, and acenter lamp-terminal-engaging contact which extends through the body andprojects beyond the end of the same, and through the end of the shell,to make connection with the center contact of the socket or the like inconnection with which the device is to be employed. The body is held in'the shell, by the locking mechanism of the latter, so as to be capableof rbtation relatively thereto and relatively to the socket inconnection with which the device is used; and it can be bodily removedfrom the shell when the locking mechanism of the latter is released by aspecial tool. When the bodyhas been removed from the shell, the shell mabe removed from the socket, but not before.

It will be seen that, by reasoii' of the" fact that the threaded plugcontact of the shell rotatably mounted upon the main portion oi thesame, the shell cannot be withdrawn from the socket by merely turningthe same from the outside, since the main portion of the shell wouldmerely turn relatively to'the threaded plug contact. The lamp cannot beremoved, since it, together with the body which supports it, will turnfreely relatively to the shell and to the socket.

Referring now to the drawings, and particularly Figs.;1' and 2 thereof,A designates L base 20.

the centei. contact 27 the body, B the shell, and C the socket inconnection with which the device is used. The body A comprises aninsulating base having a hole 21 formed therethrough. In the hole 21 ishaunted a. tubhlar member 22, the lower end of which flared outward,

I as to form a center lainp terininal engaging Contact. A hollow stem24: is telescopically mounted in the tubular member 22, and extendsoutward beyond the upper end' of the base 20, being flared outward atits ui 'iper end, as at 25; A spring 26 is mounted upon the stern 24-,between the fihnge 25 of the latter and the top of the tubular memberthis spring tending to move the stem 24 outward" relatively to the Vhenthe parts A and B are assemhled, the end or base 2.0: extends beyond theend of the threaded plugcontact of the shell B, and the flange of thetubular stem 2'lmakes contact with the center contact 27 of the socketQ. As has been said,

the center terminal of the lamp makes connection with the end 23 of thetubular mein= ber. 22 The member 22 is in connection with tlieste1n2 l,current from the center contact 27 of the socket being thus transmittedto the center terminal. of the lamp. It will be seen that the base 20can rotate freely with respectto the center contact 27 withoutdisturb'ng' the connection between and the center terminal of the lamp.Such rotation merely results in the stem 24 turning upon the contact 27.01-; the steui remaining stationary relatively to the center contact 27'and turn.- ing in the tubular member 22.'

7 At a short distance below its upper end, the base 20 is enlarged, soas to form a shoulder 28; and, at its lower end, it is re duced, so asto form a shoulder 29. The upper end of the threadedlamp-terminaleiigaging contact 30 is reduced in diameter and fits overthe end of the base 20, below the shoulder 29, being crimped over theinner edge of a flat ring 31. Surrounding the base 20, below theshoulder 28, is, a sleeve 32, the upper end of which is bent wardly toengage over the shoulder 28, and the lower end of which is flaredoutwardly and then bent in beneath the outer edge of the fiat ring- 31.The sleeve 32 thus retains the threaded contact 30 in position upon thebase 20 with its top" end clamped against the shoulder 29; The ring 31is of such width that the lower end of the sleeve- 32 7 projectsconsiderably beyond the reduced upper end of the threaded contact 30',an annular recess 33 (Fig; 2) being thereby :t'orm'ed- Itis in therecess 33 that the locking mechanism,- carried by the shell en'- gages,thereby permitting rotation (if the body A relatively to the shell,a's'will now be described. 2 l r a The shell B comprises a casing-34adapted to surround, and completely hide, the threaded contact 30 whenthe body is in p0 sition in the shell, the casing being formed with abead 34 for supportingga shade ring or the like. r The upper end of thecasing 3a is enlarged outwardly, to form ah annular chamber 35, havingan inwardly extending lip at its upper part. Engaging beneath the saidlip, and supported from beneath by a partialring 36 (Figs. 3, a and- 5)made of insulating material and partially lining the annular chamber 35,is'a' flat ring 37 of insulating material. The ring 37 loosely"surrounds the lower end of the" threaded plug contact 38, the latterbeing flanged out beneath the ring 37 as at 39. The flange 39 rests upona contact plate 40, which will be hereinafter described, the threadedcontact 38 being thus rotatably mounted with 're'' spect to theremainder of the shell. The threaded contact 38 is formed with anape'rture 41 at its upper (and, through which the upper end of the base20' of the body A 'eX- tends when the body is connected with the shell;

Located in the bottom ofthe chamber 35' is a ring 42,-fo1in'ed' ofinsulating material, which ring is prevented from rotation in thechamber by an indentation 43 formed in the wall of the chamber. The ring42 is provided with a noises for receiving a; pin 45' which extendsdownwardly frointhejcontact pl'ate' LO, wl'iich latter is of the" shapeshown in Figs. 5 and 10; Besides the pin 45, the contact plate 40 isprovided with two pins 46, the lower ends of which rest upon the ring42. Lying upon the ring42 is an arc-shaped strip 47 which, in turn,supports the locking dogs 48. The locking dogs 48 are formed of brass orsome other conducting material and lie one on each side of the pin/;their adjacent ends are rounded, as at 49, and lit in correspondingrecesses in the inner edge of an arc-shaped plate 50, which may beformed of brass or the like, and which also lies upon the insulatingstrip 47. The locking dogs 48 are thus mounted so as to be capable ofbeing swung about their ends 49. Surrounding the pin 45, is a leafspring 51, which bears upon the inner edges of the locking dogs 48 andtend to move them outward. The parts are so positioned and arranged thatthe locking dogs 48 lie in the plane of the annular recess 33 of thebody A, when the latter is in position in the shell B. When the body isin position in the shell, the dogs 48 are forced toward each otheragainst the action of the spring 51, so as to enter the annular recess33 and lock the body in the shell. Releasable means are provided forholding the parts in such locked position, which means will now bedescribed.

Referring particularly to Figs. 1 to 4, 52

designates an arc-shaped locking plate, which rests upon the lnsulatingring 42, and

i is provided with elongated slots 53 through which pass the pins 46extending downward from the contact plate 40. The locking plate 52 isthus capable of alimited lateral movement upon the top surface of thering 42. In one of its extreme positions (Fig. 3) the locking plate 52engages against the outer surfaces of the ends of the locking dogs 48and forces them inward against the action of the spring 51. When thelocking plate 52 is allowed, however, to move back into the positionshown in Fig. 4, the looking dogs 48 spring outward under the action ofthe leaf spring 51..

The ring 42 is cut away, at the side there of opposite to the pin 45, soas to leavea segment-shaped space at the rear of the locking plate 52.In this space is mounted an L- shaped member 54, formed of brass or thelike, the lower part of which lies upon the bottom of the chamber 35 andis bent up at the ends so as to form a leaf spring (Figs. 6-9). Fittedto the member 54 is a bridge 56, which extends over the leaf spring 55,and the ends of which rest upon the bottom of the chamber 35. Mountedbetween the leaf spring 55 and the bridge 56 is a locking armature 57,formed of soft iron, which is normally pressed up against the under sideof the bridge 56, as shown in full lines in Fig. 6. The armature may,however, be moved down, against the action of the spring 55, as willhereinafter appear. When the armature 57 is in its uppermost position,it lies behind the locking plate 52, and holds the latter in the positln shown in Fig. 3. Then, however, the armature 57 is depressed, thelocking plate 52 may be forced back by the action of the end of thelocking dogs 48 springing up under the influence of the spring 51.

The locking mechanism is manipulated by means of a tool D. The tool(Fig. 11) comprises a plate 58 provided at its rear end with spacedprojectlons 59. The plate is bent upward and then forward at its frontend and provided with spaced projections 60 similar to the projection59. Riveted beneath the plate 58 is a powerful, permanent magnet 61, thepoles 62 of which lie beneath the projections 60. Pivoted beneath themagnet 61 is a flat bar 62, the end of which is adapted for-use inremoving the shell from the socket C.

The operation of the device is as follows. The shell being separatedfromthe body, its plug contact 38 is screwed into the. corre spondingcontact of the socket C, this operation being effected with the aid ofthe portion (32 of the tool, the end of which lat ter is insertedbetween a pair of notches 3 formed .in the edge of the opening 41 of thethreaded contact 38. The tool, the part (32 of which may be formed ofinsulating material, is thus used as a wrench; and the necessity oftouching live. conducting portions is thus avoided. When the plugcontact 38 has been inserted into the socket (l, the re reminder of theshell may be freely turned relatively to it, as has been stated above.lVhen the body A was previously separated from the shell, the lockingmechanism was left in the condition shown in 2 and 4, the dogs 48 beingspread away from each other. l Vith the parts in this position, the bodymay be pushed up into the shell, the end of the base 20 passing throughthe aperture 41 of the plug contact 38, and the end 25 of the stem 24engaging the center contact 27 of the socket C, the spring 26 beingcompressed as shown. lVhen the body is thus thrust up into the shell,the annular recess 33 thereof is located on the same plane as thelocking dog 48 of the shell. With the parts in this position, theprojections 59 of the tool D are made to engage against the rear face ofthe locking plate 52, these projections entering the chamber 35 throughproperly placed apertures 65 provided for the purpose. The tool is nowthrust inward, the locking plate being thus moved toward the lockingdogs 48; 0., the plate 52 is moved from the position shown in Fig. 4 tothat shown in Fig. 3. This movement of the locking plate 52 causes thelocking dogs 48 to be moved toward each other so as to enter the annularrecesses 33 of the body A; and, when the rear edge of the locking plate52 has passed the front edge of the armature 57, the latter, which waspreviously held beneath the locking plate, is permitted to be movedupward by the spring 55, thereby to prevent the locking plate from beingmoved back again. The locking dogs are thus firmly retained in theirposition in the annular recess With the parts in such condition, thebody is securely locked in the/shell, but in such a manner that it maybe freely rotated with respect to the shell and to the socket C. If anyattempt is i'i'iade to unscrew the lamp from the device, such attemptonly results in the turning of the body relatively to the socket andshell. is has been said, the main. part of the shell can turn freelyrelatively to the plug contact 38 of the shell; so that any attempt tounscrew the shell frontthe socket would be uiisuccessful, the onlyportion of the shell which is accessible merely turnii'ig with respectto the socket C. When itis desired to remove the device from the socketfor any reason, such as to replace the lamp, when the latter has becomeburned out or broken, the projections 60 of the tool D are inserted intothe aperture 65 and pressed against the locking plate 52, the lockingplate 52 being moved inward to a slight extent from the position shownin Fig. 3. This inward movement of the locking plate removes thepressure of the locking plate against the edge of the armature 57, whichpressure would be sufiicient to prevent the armature 57 from being moveddown-, ward against the action of the spring 55, by magnetic attraction.It will be under-- stood that when the projections 60 of the tool areinserted into the apertures 65, the poles 62 of the ma gnet 61 enterbeneath the bottom of the chamber 35; so that, when the look-- ing plate52 is pushed inward, as above described, the poles 62 of the magnet willbe located immediately below the armature 57. The lateral pressure uponthe armature being removed, the magnet poles 62 will draw down thearmature 57, against the action of the spring 55, thus removing thearmature from its position behind the locking plate 52. It the tool benow withdrawn, the locking plate 52 will be forced back by the action ofthe spring 51 separating the locking dogs %8, the magnet poles remainingin position beneath the armature long enough to hold the latter downuntil the locking plate has moved into the position above it. Thelocking dogs 48 are thus separated, and the body A. will be removed fromthe shell; in fact, the body will spring out, under the action of thecoiled spring 26. The body having thus been removed, the end of theportion 62" of the tool is inserted into the slot 63 of the plugcontact, and the latter is unscrewed from the corresponding threadcontact of the socket C. The manner of reinserting the device has beendescribed above.

In orderto hold the plug contact 38 66, one end of which is riveted tothe con- 1 tact 38', and the otherend of which extends outward throughthe same; as at 67 12 and 13). The end 67 of the spring 66 is locatedinthe line of the threads of the contact 88; and is adapted to engageagainst the surface of the threaded contact of the socket when the plugcontact 38 is screwed thereinto. The spring 66 extends backward as" thecontact 38 is inserted into the corresponding contact of the socket, andsuch insertion is, therefore, an easy matter. If an attempt is made towithdraw the contact 38 from the corresponding socket, however, the end67 of the" springer) will tend to plow into the metal of the threadedcontact of the socket; so that considerable" force must be exercisedbefore the contact 38 can be remeved from the socket.

It will be seen that the device is such that it'is, practicallyspeaking, impossible to release the locking mechanism without the aid oftliespecial tool i 'ovided. The down turned sides" of the bridge 56,which lie adjacent the inner sides of the holes 65, prevent access beinghad, as by means of a bent wire or the like, to'the armat re 57. {Owingto thefrotary connection between the stem 24 and the tubular member 22,the body A can rotate very freely relatively to the socket and to theshell B; so that it is impossible to loosen the lamp from the threadedcontact 30 by merely turning the lamp. \Vhile removal of the lamp by anunauthorized person is veryeihciently prevented, the lamp may be removedand replaced with the greatest ease by an authorized person, and

such removal and replacement may be ct fected without in any waydisturbing the sh'a'de or other parts of the fixture.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Lette'rs Patent, is: V

1. A thief-proof lamp-holding device com prising a support, a threadedlamp-terminal-engaging contact formed with a peripheral shoulder, meanscarried by said support engaging beneath said shoulder so as to connectsaid contact rotatively withsaid support, said means being withdrawablefrom engagement beneath said shoulder, thereby to permit removal of saidcontact, and means for preventing manual access to said contact when thelatter is connected with said support.

2. In a thief-proof lamp-holding device, the coinblnation with means forsupporting a lani'p'so as to be normally irremovable 2,. 1 therefrom, ofa lock cooneratlng wlth said s11p 36rting1neai1s, and adapted, whenoperated, to permit reihoval of the front said lamp-holding means, saidlock being adapted to be operated by pressure and magnetic attraction,and atool having a portion adapted for engagement with a part of saidlock to enable pressure to be applied thereto, and including a magnet.

3. In a thief-proof, lampholding device,

the combination with means for supporting a lamp so as to be freelyrotatable With respect to the socket in connection with which the deviceis employed, and means for normally preventing access to said supportingmeans, of mechanism cooperating with said supporting means and saidaccess-prevent ing means, and adapted, when operated, to render saidaccess-preventing means inoperative, said mechanism being adapted to beoperated by magnetic attraction, and a magnet for operating saidmechanism.

1. A thief proof lamp holding device, comprising a shell including acasing and a threaded plug contact, said casing being mounted to rotatewith respect to the plug contact. a body includinga threadedlampterminal-receiving contact, a center-lamp terminal engaging contact,and an end con tact electrically connected with said centerlamp-terminalengaging contact, said body.

being adapted to be inserted into said shell so that the threadedcontact thereof makes engagement with the plug contact of said shell andthe end contact thereof makes con nection with the center contact of thesocket in connection with which the device is employed, and means forretaining said body in said shell so as to be capable of rotationrelatively to said shell, said retaining means being adapted to bereleased by a speciaily formed tool.

5. The combination with a key, of a lamp supporting device comprising ashell including a casing and a threaded plug contact, said casing beingmounted to rotate with respect to said plug contact; a body detachablyconnected with said threaded plug contact including acenter-lamp-terminal engaging contact, an end contact electricallyconnected with said center-lamp-terminal engaging contact, and athreaded lamp-ten minal-engaging contact, said body being adapted to beinserted into said shell with the threaded 1amp-terminal-engagingcontact in connection with the plug contact of the shell and the endcontact in connection with the center contact of the socket inconnection with which the device is employed, and said body beingadapted to support the lamp so that the latter may be rotated withrespect to the socket without disturbing the electrical connections ofthe lamp end with the contacts of the body; and releasable means forretaining said body in said shell,

said retaining means being adapted to beoperated by said key.

6. A thief-proof lamp-holding device,

comprising a hollow casing, a threaded plug contact, said casing beingmounted to rotate with respect to said plug contact, a body detachablyconnected with said plug contact and contained in said casing andcapable o'l being moved relatively thereto, said body including athreaded lamp-termiinil-engaging contact in connection with said plugcontact, an end contact adapted to make connection with the socket inconnection with which the device is employed, a center lzunp-terniinalengaging contact electrically connected with said end contact, and meansfor supporting said contacts, and releasable means for normallypreventing longitudinal movement of said body relatively to said casing,but adapted, when released, to permit said body to be movedlongitudinally relatively to said casing to permit access to the body tobe had.

7. A. thief-proof lamp-holding device, comprising a body including athreaded lamp-terminal-engaging contact, an end contact adapted to makeengagement with the center contact of the socket in connection withwhich the device is employed, and a center-lamp-termin.al. eijlgagingcontact electrically connected with. said end contact; a threaded plugcontact detachably connected with said body and electrically connectedwith said threaded lamp-terminaL engaging contact, said casing beingmounted to rotate with respect to said plug contact; means forpreventing access to said body or to said threaded plug contact; andmeans for rendering said access-preventing means inoperative.

8. A thief-proof lamp-holding device, comprising a body including athreaded lamp-termi11al-engagin g contact, an end contact adapted tomake engagement with the center contact of the socket in connection withwhich the device is employed, and a centerdamp-terminal engaging contactelectrically connected with said end contact and rotatable with respectthereto; a threaded plug contact electrically connected with saidthreaded lamp-terminal-engaging contact, and mounted to rotate withrespect to said plug contact; means for preventing access to said bodyor to said threaded plug contact; and means for rendering saidaccesspreventing means inoperative.

9. A thief-proof lamp-holding device, comprising a shell including acasing and a threaded plug contact, said casing being mounted to rotatewith respect to said plug contact; a body including a threadedlampterminal-engaging contact, an end contact, and acenter-lamp-terminal engaging contact in electrical connection with saidend contact, said body having an annular recess therein and beingadapted to be inserted into said shell with its threaded contact inconnection With said plug contact and its end contact in connection withthe center terminal of the socket in connection with which the device isemployed; a pair of movable dogs carried by said shell so as to enterthe recess of said body, thereby to retain said body in said shell hilepermit ting rotation of the body relatively to the shell; and means vformoving said dogs out of engagement with said recess, to permit said bodyto be removed from said shell, said last-named means being adapted to beoperated by a specially formed tool.

An electric lamp supporting device comprising a non-rotating support andmeans for detachably connecting and rota- ;tably supporting an electriclamp ith respect to said non-rotating support, comprising movablelatching means mounted on said non-rotating support.

11. An electric lamp supporting device comprising a non-rotating supportand a member having an annular shoulder, and means for (letachablyconnecting and rotatabl-y supporting an electric lamp with respect tosaid. non-rotating support comprisng movable la hing me ns mountedon sainan-rotati g supp ng ng. aid houlder. 7 s I 12. An. electric lampsupporting device omp ngnon-rotat ng pp rt a movable latching meansmounted on said nonan electric lamp, said latching means being pivotedto move about an axis substantially parallel to the axis of the lamp.

In itness whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name in the presence oftwo Witnesses. v

REUBEN B. BENJAMIN.

lVitnesses 1E K-l x a 'CEABLES COPE- Qppies pf -this patent may beobtained for five cents each, by addressing the ,Qomnussiener ofgatents,

ash n n 3- It is hereby certified that in Letters Patent No. 1,238,482,granted August 28, 1917, upon the application of Reuben B. Benjamin, ofChicago, Illinois, for an improvement in Thief-Proof Lamp-HoldingDevices, errors appear requiring correction as follows: In the drawings,Sheet 2, Fig. 11, lower right-hand corner,

for the reference-numeral 62 read 62; page 3, line 92 of the printedspecification, for the reference-numeral 62 read 62; and that the saidLetters Patent should be read with these corrections therein that thesame may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 9th day of OctoberjA. D., 1917.

F. W. H. CLAY,

[snAn] Acting Commissioner of Patents. c1. 17335e.

